Lower School Admission

Admission Process

Submit Application

Submit the online application.

The Lower School application is completed through the MICDS Admission Portal. The regular application deadline is January 31, 2020 for consideration in the first round of decisions for the 2020-21 school year. For siblings of current students as well as children of alumni, faculty and staff, the Junior Kindergarten Family Early Action Option (JK FEAO) application deadline is November 26, 2019.

Regular admission decisions will be mailed on March 13, 2020, and JK FEAO admission decisions will be mailed January 29, 2020. First-round family enrollment decisions for the 2020-21 school year are due by April 3, 2020.

MICDS uses an August 1 age cut-off date for entry into Junior or Senior Kindergarten. Your child must be 4 years old to enter Junior Kindergarten and 5 years old to enter Senior Kindergarten.

Schedule Appointments

Schedule screening or testing, a parent interview and a classroom visit.

After submitting your application, you will schedule appointments through the MICDS Admission Portal. For any assistance, please contact the Admission Office at 314-995-7367 or admission@micds.org.

Junior and Senior Kindergarten:

Admission Screening and Parent Interview: Schedule a time for an individual evaluation of your child that coincides with a parent interview. The appointment will take approximately 45 minutes.

School Observation (arranged by MICDS): As part of the application process, MICDS makes every effort to observe your child in his or her current school. If your child is not currently enrolled in school or is from out of town, please contact the Admission Office to schedule a classroom visit.

1st Grade:

Admission Screening, Parent Interview and Classroom Visit: Schedule a 30-minute individual evaluation of your child that coincides with a parent interview, followed by a 75-minute classroom visit for your child.

2nd-4th Grades:

Admission Testing: Please choose a Saturday Testing date that works best for your child. Available testing dates are January 25 or February 1, 2020.

Classroom Visit and Parent Interview: Schedule a classroom visit for your child that concludes with a coinciding 30-minute parent interview.

Apply for Tuition Assistance

Applying for tuition assistance is optional.

If you choose to apply for tuition assistance, see the following steps and deadlines:

MICDS requires each family applying for tuition assistance to place a confidential online application through School and Students Services (SSS) by completing the Parent Financial Statement and submitting supporting tax documentation. It is extremely important to submit the tuition assistance application on time, as there are budgetary limits to the available funds. Do not wait until a child is accepted to apply for aid. Please visit our Tuition and Affordability webpage or read our Affording MICDS Brochure for more information on how to apply.

Tuition assistance application deadlines:

December 2, 2019 – This is the filing deadline for all current students, with 2018 taxes and W-2s.

December 16, 2019 – This is the filing deadline for Junior Kindergarten Family Early Action Option (JK FEAO).

February 3, 2020 – This is the deadline for new applications for all other grade levels.

Note: If the application deadlines have passed, you may still apply for assistance but funds may no longer be available.

Decisions and notification:

Applying for tuition assistance does not affect the admission decision. The admission decision is a separate process from the tuition assistance determination and is led by a separate committee. The Committee on Tuition Assistance deliberations are confidential and address only factors affecting the assessment of need. Prospective families can expect a tuition assistance decision at the same time as their admission decision when applications are completed by or before the deadline.